


To Give the Gift of Happiness

by geriatricsupersoldiers



Series: Fic This Together [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Gen, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 08:42:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2844902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geriatricsupersoldiers/pseuds/geriatricsupersoldiers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events in San Juan, team morale is low, but Fitz and Simmons see the holidays as the perfect opportunity to lift everyone's spirits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Give the Gift of Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> This is a response to the ficthistogether prompt: The team gets into the holiday spirit by decorating the BUS!
> 
> (For those of you who don't know, the fine folks over at fixthistogether.tumblr.com will be posting weekly prompts under the tag "ficthistogether" until AoS returns in March. Prompts can be filled with fics, fanart, whatever you want to do.)
> 
> This was written in a bit of a hurry, but I wanted to get it done before Christmas. That having been said, I apologize in advance for any errors that I may have missed and for the lame title-- I have the worst trouble coming up with good titles, and in a limited timeframe, this is the best I could conjure.
> 
> Also, FYI, this story takes place in a world where Antoine Triplett returned home with the team safe and sound ;)

After the events in San Juan, the entire team was unsettled.

Bobbi had been certain that she had killed one of her closest friends, only to find that, thanks to whatever alien super-strength he'd been temporarily granted, Mack had survived their scuffle.

Mack was still coping with the reality that he had been possessed by some crazy alien powers and could have easily killed half the team, despite Fitz's constant reminders that he didn't kill or even seriously hurt  _anyone_ .

Skye had finally come face to face with her father, discovered she could handle the obelisk as if it was a harmless toy, and, after emerging from what Trip could only describe as a cocoon, seemed to have gained some unusual abilities.

Coulson was recovering from his encounter with Cal.

The list went on and on.

But, unsympathetic to the agents' need for a break, time kept on moving on. Days passed, and the year came closer and closer to an end, bringing with it what  _should_ have been a festive, happy string of holidays. It was tough to find much holiday cheer around the base this year, though.

It was December 24th, and the only hint that Christmas was less than 24 hours away was the red and green reindeer sweater that Jemma pulled out of storage every year.

“I know we're all recovering from a trying situation,” she lamented to Fitz, who despite having kept his word about leaving the lab in favor of working with Mack in the garage, still visited on occasion. After realizing that, in this line of work, they could wind up facing death (again) any day, Fitz and Simmons decided that they both needed to put forth a little more effort in restoring their friendship, lest they never get another chance. “But it's Christmas! If we don't deserve a bit of cheer on Christmas, when  _do_ we?”

“While I agree that we could all use a break from this-- this general sense of, um--  _misery_ , I don't really see how we could make that happen,” he sipped at his tea, brow furrowed in both thought and frustration. “Skye barely talks to anyone except Coulson; Trip seems to be focused entirely on getting Skye to talk to  _him_ ; and Mack is so bent on avoiding everyone that he'd probably never leave his room if he could get away with it.”

“So we do it ourselves, then!”

“Do  _what_ , exactly?”

She was already on the move when she offered what Fitz did  _not_ consider an explanation. “I've got an idea.”

* * *

With Bobbi and Hunter trailing behind him, Fitz made his way to Mack's room. Not surprisingly ,the door was closed, and when he knocked, he was not exactly greeted warmly. “I'm really not in the mood for company,” Mack's voice sounded from inside.

“Please, Mack. There's something that you-- that I want you to see. It'll only take a minute.”

Fitz rejoiced at the sight of the door creaking open, even if it was only so that Mack could look him in the eye when he tried to shoo him away. “C'mon Turbo, give me a break.”

But the engineer was as unrelenting as always. “It's important, Mack,  _please_ .” He managed to wedge his foot into the small opening between the door and the frame, effectively preventing Mack from retreating back inside.

Mack huffed, though a tiny hint of amusement at Fitz's insistence threatened to crack his stony expression. “Are you two behind this, as well?” He addressed Bobbi and Lance.

“Don't look at me, mate,” Hunter threw his arms up in defense. “He practically dragged the two of us here, so I figured it had to be something important.”

Mack returned his attention to Fitz, who hadn't said another word, but continued to look up at him with pleading eyes that, if he was being honest, could probably convince him to do just about anything.

“Alright, fine,” he begrudgingly stepped out into the hallway. “But for the record, I'm not happy about it.”

“Noted,” Fitz responded with a rather satisfied grin before he continued to lead the group through the base and out toward the hangar, glancing behind him periodically to make sure no one had slipped away while his back was turned.

When the four of them arrived at their destination, they discovered that the remainder of the team was there waiting for them, most sharing the same exasperated expressions, save for Simmons, who had clearly been the one to wrangle them all together.

“Ok, everyone is here,” Coulson addressed Jemma. “Now, can you please tell us what's going on?”

“Yes, well, as I'm sure you've all noticed, morale has been awfully low lately, and what with the holidays being upon us, Fitz and I decided that we could all use a bit cheering up.” They all continued to look on expectantly, not yet satisfied with her explanation. “So, if you'll all follow me....”

Coulson shot her a questioning look, but acquiesced at the sight of her encouraging, if not overly enthusiastic expression. Once he made the move to follow, the rest of the team agreed to fall in line, Fitz taking up the rear to ensure that no one attempted an escape-- if someone asked him now, though, he couldn't tell them exactly how he intended to force May to cooperate if he had needed to.

Jemma led the team onto the Bus, all the while barely able to contain her excitement. “Thank you all so much for coming, even though we essentially gave you no choice,” she announced over her shoulder so that the entire group could hear. “I really hope you'll agree that it was worth the trouble when you see it.”

“See what?” May's voice sounded from the pack, but before she could get a response, they were led into the lounge.

Jemma turned to face the team with bright eyes and smile that couldn't possibly get any wider while Fitz maneuvered his way through the crowd to join her.

Behind them, the lounge practically sparkled with decorative ornaments, tinsel garland and blinking lights. Snacks and drinks had been pilfered from the kitchen and laid out on the bar, and with the press of a button, festive music began playing softly from the speakers above them.

“Happy Christmas!” Fitz and Simmons proclaimed as they stood proudly while their friends scanned the room in what could only be described as shock and awe.

“You two did all of this?” Skye asked, still staring in disbelief at the makeshift winter wonderland before them.

The pair nodded in response. “It's not much, but we hoped that a last-minute holiday party might be the ticket to lifting everyone's spirits,” Jemma expounded as the team began to file into the room, investigating the decorations more closely and digging into the refreshments.

“No presents, though,” Fitz announced. “Sorry.”

“Turbo,” Mack began, a genuine grin finally replacing the somber expression he'd be wearing recently as he threw an arm around Fitz's shoulders. “This right here is the only present we need.”

They knew it wasn't permanent. Only time could fully heal the physical and emotional blows that had been dealt to their team. But, for the time being, Fitz and Simmons were thrilled to see them all so happy again.

 


End file.
